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2212. The Afghan National Development Strategy: The Right Plan at the Wrong Time?
- Author:
- Jake Sherman
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation
- Abstract:
- In 2005, the Government of Afghanistan initiated a process leading to the formulation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). The ANDS was formally launched at the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan in Paris on June 12, 2008. According to the Paris Conference Declaration, the strategy will be the “roadmap for joint action [by donors and the Afghan government] over the next five years and sets our shared priorities.”
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Development, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
2213. Challenges and Prospects for the EU's Area of Freedom, Security and Justice: Recommendations to the European Commission for the Stockholm Programme
- Author:
- Sergio Carrera, Elspeth Guild, and Anaïs Faure Atger
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- The upcoming Swedish presidency of the EU will be in charge of adopting the next multiannual programme on an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ), during its tenure in the second half of 2009. As the successor of the 2004 Hague Programme, it has already been informally baptised as the Stockholm Programme and will present the EU's policy roadmap and legislative timetable over these policies for the next five years. It is therefore a critical time to reflect on the achievements and shortcomings affecting the role that the European Commission's Directorate-General of Justice, Freedom and Security (DG JFS) has played during the last five years in light of the degree of policy convergence achieved so far. This Working Document aims at putting forward a set of policy recommendations for the DG JFS to take into consideration as it develops and consolidates its future policy strategies, while duly ensuring the legitimacy and credibility of the EU's AFSJ within and outside Europe.
- Topic:
- Security, International Law, International Organization, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2214. Cyberspace and the National Security of the United Kingdom: Threats and Responses
- Author:
- Paul Cornish, Rex Hughes, and David Livingstone
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Cyberspace and the National Security of the United Kingdom provides a general overview of the problem of cybersecurity. The aim of the report is to inform debate and to make the case for a more coherent, comprehensive and anticipatory policy response, both nationally and internationally. In every area, society is becoming increasingly dependent upon information and communications technology (ICT). With dependency come exposure and vulnerability to misuse, criminality and even attack. Criminals and extremists are able to take advantage of the same 'global technological commons' upon which society is becoming so dependent. Cybersecurity has become a fast-moving and complex security challenge, one which requires a coordinated, agile and mutually reinforcing response from all those who benefit from the global ICT infrastructure.
- Topic:
- Security, Crime, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
2215. North Africa: The Hidden Risks to Regional Stability
- Author:
- Claire Spencer
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- North Africa may not be as stable as it looks: socio-economic and political pressures are fracturing the consensus between governments and governed and may overtake terrorism and criminality as the region's main destabilizing forces. With political leadership in the region effectively a lifelong position, the growth of authoritarianism is undermining the prospects for achieving political and economic liberalization. Despite the worsening global economic climate, a window of opportunity exists to accelerate socially sensitive and productive domestic investment and open space for greater autonomous political and economic development. Success depends on renegotiating the social contracts on which North Africa's states are based. A broadening of participation, above all through the extension of legal employment, targeted investment on education, health and skills, and the establishment of independent legal and regulatory frameworks, will go some way towards addressing socio-economic stresses. A change in the political environment, however, requires a re-evaluation of how the region's security climate is seen from outside, with adjustments in the kind of support given to regional governments by its key international partners, the European Union and the United States.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Islam, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and Arabia
2216. Controversies over missile defense in Europe
- Author:
- Raimo Väyrynen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The plan to deploy an anti-missile system in Central Europe has been one of the most controversial security policy issues in the past few years. The Bush Administration pushed hard for the deployment of the radar site in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland, largely because it would provide an additional layer in the global anti-ballistic missile defense of the United States. In both of these countries, public opinion has been against the deployments and the governments have had to negotiate between external and internal pressures pushing them in different policy directions. Russia has been adamantly opposed to the missile defense plan, issuing both threats and suggesting alternative ways to diminish the threat that the United States feels from Iran. The result has been a political stalemate that has further complicated otherwise tense relations between Moscow and Washington, D.C. With the arrival of the Obama Administration, there is a pause in the missile dispute, but no permanent resolution of the conflict is in sight.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Iran, Washington, Poland, Moscow, and Czech Republic
2217. West Africa: Governance and Security in a Changing Region
- Author:
- Abdel-Fatau Musah
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- This paper addresses the challenges to human and regional security in the territory covered by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It examines causal factors and their effects, profiles the actors shaping the security environment, and describes the nature and impacts of their interventions. Finally, it projects possible future scenarios based on the current security dynamics. The paper examines the geopolitical environment of West Africa, with emphasis on the strategic importance of the region and the vulnerabilities emanating from its location. Within this context, it discusses the roles of local, regional, and international actors in the evolving regional security architecture, sifting through their actions, motivations, and interventions. It analyzes the attempts by national, regional, and international institutions to transform the security environment, highlighting their roles, strengths, and weaknesses; and it projects various security scenarios, proposing policy options to meet the challenges that these scenarios present.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, Government, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Africa
2218. Transnational Organized Crime
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Transnational organized crime (TOC) is no longer the sole preserve of specialist criminal organizations. It is now an essential strategy for armed groups around the world, and a source of funding for terrorists, corrupt politicians, warlords, and rogue governments. But states and international organizations have largely failed to anticipate the evolution of TOC into a strategic threat to governments, societies, and economies. At the international level, an outdated understanding of TOC does not adequately contemplate the strategic impact of TOC and fails to ensure that peace efforts and crime fighting are not working at cross-purposes.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Crime, International Law, Peace Studies, War on Drugs, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
2219. Private Military and Security Companies: A Framework for Regulation
- Author:
- James Cockayne and Emily Speers Mears
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- In late 2008, seventeen states, including the US, UK, China, Iraq, and Afghanistan, endorsed the Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for States Related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies During Armed Conflict. This provides important guidance to states in regulating Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs). But there is a need to do more, to provide increased guidance to industry and ensure standards are enforced.
- Topic:
- Security, International Law, Privatization, Treaties and Agreements, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, China, Iraq, and United Kingdom
2220. Tomorrow's Institution Today
- Author:
- Amitai Etzioni
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Old international institutions must be updated to tackle transnational challenges. The most promising model for doing so is the Proliferation Security Initiative, a recent cooperative effort to interdict weapons of mass destruction.
- Topic:
- Security and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Middle East, and North Korea